Composite package



Nov. 29, 1966 J. D. BOSTROM COMPOSITE PACKAGE Filed Aug. 28, 1963 INVENTOR. Joh Dona/0 Bosfrom His A/f'y United States Patent l 3,288,280 COMPOSITE PACKAGE John Donald Bosh-0m, Niles, Ill., assignor to Illinois Tool Works Inc, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Delaware Filed Aug. 28, 1963, Ser. No. 305,049 2 Claims. (Cl. 20656) The present invention relates to an improved package for holding articles of manufacture on a card by way of a protective transparent covering and for permitting access to the contents of the package.

From a merchandising standpoint, the packaging of articles on cards with transparent coverings gives the manufacturer an opportunity to attractively display his products to the consumer Without great cost and with an :assurance that his products will be protected against damage and loss until they reach the ultimate consumer. In some instances, however, the consumer may be frustrated in his attempt to gain access to the contents of the package because of the difficulty of separating the transparent covering from the card. This is occasioned by the fact that the transparent covering is adhesively secured to the card and tends to strip the portion of the card during separation so as to hinder or make impossible an easy access to the contents of the package. The consumer must then tear away or remove the portion of the card which remains adhered to the transparent covering and which blocks removal of the package contents before he is successful in his effort. In order to overcome this difiiculty, the present invention provides such a package with a unique feature enabling efiicient and ready access to the package contents.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a composite package which facilitates the stripping of the transparent covering from a card or backing member.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a composite package wherein a pre-indented or scored outline is provided in the card or backing member, the outline being substantially complementary to the shape of the article containers provided in the protective transparent covering to permit easy access to the contents of the package.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a composite package having a plurality of article containers mounted on a card or backing member, and where there is a plurality of pre-indented outlines in the card or backing member substantially complementary to the shape of the article containers.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a composite package having a plurality of article containers associated with the card or backing member as described above, and Where there is a perforated portion between the article containers to facilitate separation of the article containers from each other.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a composite package, which in addition to the aforementioned objects, has a lift tab to permit separation of the transparent covering from the card or backing member.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a composite package made of materials which are relatively low in cost and which are easy to manufacture and assemble together.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent when the specification is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the transparent covering attached to the card or backing member for display purposes;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the transparent covering and the card or backing member prior to attachment together;

Patented Nov. 29, 1966 FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 1 showing the cross sectional shape of one of the article containers;

FIG. 4 is an end view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1 showing the general shape of one of the article containers as secured to the backing member;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 55 of FIG. 1 and showing the long axis of the container;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a single article container attached to a card or backing member.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, there is shown a composite package having a card or backing member If) and a transparent covering member 20 adhesively secured thereto. The backing member 10 is preferably made of a sheet of cardboard or stiff paper to impart rigidity and stiffness to the package as a whole. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the use of stiff paper or cardboard for the backing member 10 although this material is especially suitable on account of its low cost and ability to confer the required stiffness and rigidity, as Well as the readiness with which markings may be printed thereon for indicating the nature of or advertising the contents of the package. The transparent covering member 20 is formed from sheet material of thermoplastic variety such as rigid vinyl chloride, vinyl acetate, cellulose acetate, polystyrene, or the like. The material may be colored or rendered opaque as desired, all which is known in the art of plastics. The holes 12 in the backing member allow the composite package to be hung for display purposes.

As best shown in FIG. 5, the backing member 14 is preferably made of first and second sheets 14, 16 which are secured together with an adhesive. The first sheet 14 is provided with a closed-shaped pre-indented or scored outline 18 which extends substantially through the thickness of the first sheet as shown in FIG. 5. The backing member 10 can be provided with a plurality of such pre-indented or scored outlines 18 which are spaced from one another, and which perform an important function in facilitating the stripping of the transparent thermoplastic cover sheet from the backing member.

The thermoplastic cover sheet 24 shown in FIGS. 1-2 is provided with a series of projections in the form of article containing body portions 22 which extend laterally from the plane of the thermoplastic cover sheet and are formed by any suitable means, examples of which will be hereinafter discussed.

Each of the article containing body portions 22 may be provided with integral side and end wall portions 24, 26, and a top wall portion 28. The article containing body portion may take any particular shape or configuration which will normally he dictated by the contents of the package. When the thermoplastic cover sheet 20 is secured to the backing member 10, the articles of manufacture will be retained by the article containing body portions shown here as comprising three wall portions, and the backing member. In between the article containing body portions 22 on the thermoplastic cover sheet, there may be provided a perforated portion 32 which permits separation of one article containing body portion from another. As an aid in separating these article containing body portions, a lift tab 34 is formed in the thermoplastic cover sheet at one end and is provided with an arcuate configuration to permit a finger to be inserted for separating an article containing body portion along the perforated portion 32.

The article containing body portions 22 are designed for mounting on the card or backing member so that the inner peripheral margin 17 of such portions are substantially complementary with and coincidental to the pre-indented or scored outlines 18 in the backing member 10. The thermoplastic cover sheet and backing member are adapted to be adhesively secured together in a vicinity outside of the inner peripheral margin 17 of the article containing body portion and the outer peripheral margin of the pre-indentcd or scored outline 18. Since the article containing body portions do not themselves engage the backing member and have a particular shape substantially complementary to that of the pre-indented or scored outline 18, it will be evident that the thermoplastic cover sheet and backing member are secured together along complementary flat planar areas.

By having the inner peripheral margin of the article containing body portion and the pre-indented or scored outline substantially complementary or coincidental with each other, there will be permitted efficient and ready access to the contents of the package when one of the article containing means is removed. Any paper of the backing member which will tend to strip from the backing member and cling to the thermoplastic cover sheet will be stopped by the pre-indented or scored outline 18 when it reaches that point. Thus, the portion of the backing member within the pre-indented or scored outline 18 will be retained to the second sheet 16 and permit easy access to the contents of the package. Because of this, it is important that the pre-indented or scored outline 18 be substantially complementary to the inner peripheral margin 17 of the article containing body portions or substantially coincidental thereto so that the articles retained within the article containing means are held to the backing member solely within the preindented or scored outline 18.

In the making and assembly of the composite package, the first and second sheets 14, 16 of the backing member may be adhesively secured together, after having been fed from large rolls of material. Then, the preindented outlines 18 can be formed in the backing member substantially to the extent of the thickness of the first sheet 14 and the backing members thereafter cut to length. Obviously, the first sheet 14 may be scored prior to the adhesive bonding with the second sheet 16, if desired. If the card or backing member 10 is formed with holes therein or is made of a relatively porous material, the vacuum molding technique may be employed in deforming and drawing the thermoplastic cover member over the articles to be retained. Using this technique, the articles to be retained would be placed inside of the outlines 18 and the thermoplastic cover sheet would be heated and drawn into close skin-like contact with the articles and into laminar contact with the upper surface of the backing member through a source of vacuum positioned adjacent the backing member. Such a result will be obtained because the holes formed in the backing member, or a backing member of porous variety will permit air to be sucked therethrough to form and draw the heated thermoplastic cover sheet to substantially the shape of the articles to be retained. Alternatively, the thermoplastic cover sheet may be formed by a mechanical drawing of the article containing means 22 through the use of a molding apparatus or the like. The thermoplastic cover sheet will be formed in this manner if the articles are of a comminuted variety, such as rat bait. After this is accomplished, the planar area of the thermoplastic cover sheet may be adhesively secured or bonded to the backing member. It is to be noted that the thermoplastic cover sheet may be of a material Which of itself permits an adhesive bonding to the backing member when heated and drawn into contact thereto.

In FIGS. 3 and respectively, there is shown a sectional view of an article containing body portion taken along the short and long axes of the same. As has been noted above, the particular shape of the article containing body portion may take other forms from that illustrated in the drawings and may be dictated by the nature of the article or articles of manufacture to be retained. The pre-indented or scored outline 18 shown in each of these figures is substantially complementary with the inner peripheral margin of the lower portion of the article containing body portion 22. The outline 18 does not have to be exactly identical to that of the inner peripheral margin of the article containing body portion and may vary somewhat depending on manufacturing tolerances, the effect of the adhesive, etc. One of the article containing body portions is shown in FIG. 4 which indicates the location of the lift tab 34 relative to the upper surface of the backing member.

While the invention has been discussed relative to a plurality of article containing body portions mounted on a backing member, it is to be noted in FIG. 6 that a single article containing body portion may be mounted on a backing member having a size substantially similar to that of the planar "areas of the thermoplastic cover sheet. Also, the backing member need not be made in two sheets, but may be made of a single sheet, which is designated in FIG. 6 as 10a, and have the pre-indented or scored outline extend only partially through the thickness of the backing member. In the same manner, any portion of the paper stripped from the backing member will reach the pre-indented or scored outline and stop there, permitting easy and ready access to the interior of the article containing body portion.

From the foregoing, it will now be apparent that the present invention contemplates a unique feature in a composite package permitting the consumer of the article or articles contained in the package to withdraw them with little or no difficulty and without great cost to the manufacturer under present manufacturing techniques.

Although various embodiments have been shown and described, it is with :full awareness that many modifications thereof are possible, therefore, the invention is not to be restricted except in light of the prior art and spirit of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A composite package for containing an article of manufacture comprising a backing member having first and second sheets adhesively secured together, said first sheet having a plurality of adjacently positioned pre-indented outlines of closed geometric shape each extending substantially through the thickness of said first sheet and penetrating its outer surface, a cover member of trans- .parent sheet plastic material including a plurality of article containing body portions each being positioned in the same manner and having complementary exterior geometric configurations corresponding to said pre-indented outlines provided in said backing member first sheet, said cover member being adhesively secured to the outer surface of said backing member first sheet immediately outside of said pre-indented outlines and said article containing body portions to provide maximum adhesive engagement of said cover member to said backing member first sheet intermediate adjacent article containing body portions, a perforated portion between each pair of adjacent article containing body portions in said cover member to facilitate separation therebetween, and a finger engaging lift tab for each article containing body portions enabling manual engagement and removal of individual article containing body portions from said cover member, the relationship between each article containing body portion and the .pre-indented outline of the backing member first sheet with which it is associated assuring ex posure of the interior of each article containing body portion as it is stripped from the backing member.

2. A composite package for containing an article of manufacture comprising a backing member having opposed faces and including a plurality of adjacently positioned, pre-indented outlines of closed geometric shape each extending substantially through the thickness of the backing member and penetrating one of its faces, a cover member of transparent sheet plastic material including a plurality of article containing body portions each being positioned in the same manner and having complementary exterior geometric configurations corresponding to said pre-indented outlines provided in said backing member, said cover member being adhesively secured to the face of said backing member having said pre-indented outlines immediately outside of the peripheries thereof to provide maximum adhesive engagement of said cover member to said backing member intermediate adjacent article containing body portions, a perforated portion between each pair of adjacent article containing body portions in said cover member to facilitate separation therebetween, and a finger engaging lift tab for each article containing body portions enabling manual engagement and removal of individual article containing portions from said cover member, the relationship between each article containing body portion and its respective pre-indented outline with which it is associated assuring exposure of the interior of each article containing body portion as it is stripped from the backing member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1959 Middleton et a1. 206-78 X 5/1962 Rasmussen et 'al. 206-78 X GEORGE O. RALSTON, Primary Examiner.

JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Examiner.

R. PESHOCK, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A COMPOSITE PACKAGE FOR CONTAINING AN ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE COMPRISING A BACKING MEMBER HAVING FIRST AND SECOND SHEETS ADHESIVELY SECURED TOGETHER, SAID FIRST SHEET HAVING A PLURALITY OF ADJACENTLY POSITIONED PRE-INDENTED OUTLINES OF CLOSED GEOMETRIC SHAPE EACH EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY THROUGH THE THICKNESS OF SAID FIRST SHEET AND PENETRATING ITS OUTER SURFACE, A COVER MEMBER OF TRANSPARENT SHEET PLASTIC MATERIAL INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF ARTICLE CONTAINING BODY PORTIONS EACH BEING POSITIONED IN THE SAME MANNER AND HAVING COMPLEMENTARY EXTERIOR GEOMETRIC CONFIGURATIONS CORRESPONDING TO SAID PRE-INDENTED OUTLINES PROVIDED IN SAID BACKING MEMBER FIRST SHEET, SAID COVER MEMBER BEING ADHESIVELY SECURED TO THE OUTER SURFACE OF SAID BACKING MEMBER FIRST SHEET IMMEDIATELY OUTSIDE OF SAID PRE-INDENTED OUTLINES AND SAID ARTICLE CONTAINING BODY PORTIONS TO PROVIDE MAXIMUM ADHESIVE ENGAGEMENT OF SAID COVER MEMBER TO SAID BACKING MEMBER FIRST SHEET INTERMEDIATE ADJACENT ARTICLE CONTAINING BODY PORTIONS, A PERFORATED PORTION BETWEEN EACH PAIR OF ADJACENT ARTICLE CONTAINING BODY PORTIONS IN SAID COVER MEMBER TO FACILITATE SEPARATION THEREBETWEEN, AND A FINGER ENGAGING LIFT TAB FOR EACH ARTICLE CONTAINING BODY PORTIONS ENABLING MANUAL ENGAGEMENT AND REMOVAL OF INDIVIDUAL ARTICLE CONTAINING BODY PORTIONS FROM SAID COVER MEMBER, THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EACH ARTICLE CONTAINING BODY PORTION AND THE PRE-INDENTED OUTLINE OF THE BACKING MEMBER FIRST SHEET WITH WHICH IT IS ASSOCIATED ASSURING EXPOSURE OF THE INTERIOR OF EACH ARTICLE CONTAINING BODY PORTION AS IT IS STRIPPED FROM THE BACKING MEMBER. 